San Francisco 49ers: 5 biggest cornerstone players heading into 2018
By Peter Panacy
No. 5: Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon
While he might not have gotten off to the best start in training camp and early in the regular season, rookie third-round draftee Ahkello Witherspoon has already turned into one of the better defensive backs on the 49ers roster.
The former Colorado cornerback, despite not even being active the first four weeks of 2017, already has four passes broken up and one of the defense’s seven interceptions.
But what about the advanced look?
Pro Football Focus has Witherspoon graded at 77.4 overall, which ranks 52nd out of 119 qualifiers. That’s not bad for a rookie, especially considering first-year defensive backs tend to struggle with the transition from college to the pros.
Good NFL teams need to have at least one quality coverage corner — a player to help take away an opponent’s top wide receiver threat.
Witherspoon has done a good job of this his rookie season, and he’s been promising enough to suggest he’ll be a mainstay within San Francisco’s secondary for many years.